Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC that the company expects Medicare to begin covering its experimental obesity pill, orforglipron, immediately following its full launch in the second quarter. Ricks noted that widespread cash-pay use of Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 competitor highlights the need for broad insurance reimbursement. With Medicare support secured under the drug pricing agreements struck last November, Lilly forecasts accelerated patient adoption and reduced out-of-pocket costs, positioning orforglipron to capture a significant share of the growing obesity treatment market.

Data from MediaRadar and IQVIA show Eli Lilly invested approximately $214 million on direct-to-consumer advertising for its obesity and diabetes therapies Zepbound and Mounjaro in the first nine months of 2025. Despite spending less than half of rival Novo Nordisk’s $487 million on Wegovy and Ozempic, Lilly has secured roughly 60% of the U.S. obesity drug market. Clinical trial results released in late 2024 demonstrated that Zepbound users achieved 47% greater average weight loss than Wegovy users, underpinning Lilly’s ability to compete effectively on both efficacy and market penetration.

Eli Lilly announced a $3.5 billion investment to build a new manufacturing facility in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, dedicated to next-generation obesity injections including retatrutide. The plant is expected to create about 850 permanent scientific and engineering jobs and 2,000 construction roles, with operations slated to begin in 2031. This marks Lilly’s fourth major U.S. facility in its $27 billion domestic expansion program announced in February 2025 and underscores the company’s strategy to secure supply for its growing GLP-1 portfolio and mitigate past shortages.